"King Ghaz" buried at Warriors' Mausoleum

2010-01-25 18:22

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- Former Home Minister Tun Ghazali Shafie who died of old age yesterday, was buried at the Warriors' Mausoleum located within the grounds of the National Mosque at about 2.30pm today.

More than 200 people including family members, friends, royalty and VIPs came to pay their last respects on Ghazali, fondly known as "King Ghaz", at the National Mosque where his remains were taken to earlier.

Born in Kuala Lipis in 1922, Ghazali, 88, died at his home in Subang Jaya at 7.45pm yesterday.

His remains were bathed and prepared for burial before the funeral prayer was performed this morning at the Al-Mujahiddin Mosque, near the house of his younger sister Datin Yuhanie Shafie, 78, in Damansara Utama.

Another funeral prayer led by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom was performed after Zohor prayer at about 1.30pm at the National Mosque.

Grief filled the air at the Warriors' Mausoleum with the talqin (verbal instruction for the dead) read by National Mosque chief imam Tan Sri Syeikh Ismail Mohd.

Met by reporters later, Ghazali's nephew Datuk Amin Raiffe Othman, on behalf of the family, thanked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the government for giving Ghazali a warrior's burial at the mausoleum in recognition of his contributions to the nation.

On Najib's proposal that the government appoint someone to write Ghazali's memoir, Amin said the family would assist in collecting the material, including Ghazali's writings and jottings.

He said the memoir would enable the people to know about the situation during Ghazali's time and his contributions to the nation and at the international arena.